This recipe is for some fine homemade salad dressing. It has been dubbed Hawaiian Dressing not because it’s actually Hawaiian but because when my mom learned to make it, we lived in Hawaii.

Ingredients
5 tablespoons of vinegar (white or apple cider)
5 tablespoons of olive oil
5 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons of Salad Supreme
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

Combine ingredients in salad shaker or jar. Shake vigorously. Use as salad dressing. Refrigerate any unused portion.

Trust me, it’s delicious!

Seems the advice from Manish and Les helped. Let me know if you there are other problems with the template. And let me know your opinion of it.

How do you like this template? Quick question though for any web gurus out there: Why is it when I put something in a blockquote tag, the second paragraph and subsequent paragraphs are indented. Like this:

Blockquote

Blockquote

Blockquote

I only used one block quote tag.

One more question: I wanted to add a border around blockquotes so I added this to my stylesheet:

blockquote {text-align: justify; border: 2 dotted #384B55;}

But it’s not working. Any body know?

Update: One more, look at the links at the right. Some are indented and some aren’t. It’s a p class or p linktitle thing, I think.

Justin has moved Elephant Rants to new digs. Adjust accordingly!

Via Bill Hobbs, comes an article in The Tennessean that states a panel essentially concluded Tennessee needs a state income tax. I don’t oppose an income tax on the surface. What I do oppose is income tax without repealing sales tax. Most states have a history of lowering sales taxes to implement an income tax. Then in a few years sales taxes are raised again. That’s what one of my former accounting instructor’s told his class and I have no reason to doubt him and do not for a minute trust our legislators to not do otherwise.

Until sales tax is repealed and constitutionally held so, I’ll oppose the state income tax.

When you have to expend 64 pages to explain away one sentence, that may be a sign that you’re reaching a bit.

In 2000, there were 129,373,500 returns filed. Of which, 96,817,603 were taxable and 32,555,897 were not.

One good thing about the upcoming primaries is that it very likely signals the end of Dick Gephardt’s political career. To wit:

The American Conservative Union filed suit yesterday, demanding that Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-MO) pay back 90 percent of his $157,000 salary. Mr. Gephardt missed more than 90 percent of votes in the U.S. House during 2003, and the law requires the secretary of the Senate and the chief administrative officer of the House to dock a member’s pay for each absent day.

Yellocake may have come from Iraq. I’ll reserve judgment instead of jumping the gun . . . this time.

I said it before and it continues to be true. A VPC propaganda release:

In his opinion, Judge Walton, who was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, wrote: “[T]he Court must conclude that the Second Amendment does not confer an individual right to possess firearms. Rather, the Amendment’s objective is to ensure the vitality of state militias.”

Now George, since you had your administration file documents stating the Second Amendment confers an individual right, you may want to step in and do something about this. Or at least give Walton a talking to. Saying one thing and lending support to another is rather appalling.

USNewswire:

SB 2165, sponsored by Sen. Ed Petka (R-Plainfield), provides an affirmative defense to a violation of a municipal ordinance that prohibits, regulates, or restricts the private ownership of firearms if the individual who is charged with the violation used the firearm in an act of self-defense or defense of another.

The bill was drafted and filed in response to a controversial shooting in Wilmette, IL earlier this month. In that case, a homeowner shot a late night intruder in his home. The homeowner was later arrested for violating Wilmette’s ban on private handgun ownership. The homeowner’s arrest has generated nationwide protests and a flood of calls and emails to the Wilmette village hall.

Of course, why there’s not just a bill to repeal the stupid law is beyond me.

I am now no longer the number one Google for Spiked Bracelets. I guess these things are popular now as I got bumped to page two and actual retailers occupy the first page. I should have capitalized on that claim to fame, what with the 20 or so hits it brought a month. The down side is that I’m no longer getting entertaining comments to this post, which you really should read for a good laugh.

Some comical and popular searches here at your favorite avuncular site:

Three most popular:

SUV deduction, marey carey, jim bob cooter;

Weird ones:

kids love their uncle and their uncle detained, the tick secret message from my teeth, bi semi confusion, hairy boobs female pic, bleeding bladders in cats;

My favorites:

say uncle punk, owlshit, skunk monkey, logistical problems while running revolution, rich liberals sickening, liberal pinkos;

Lastly, I am glad to say I’ve provided valuable service to some folks:

why dogs attack other dogs, how to get skunk smell out of the house, how to build an ar15, how to sue an airline for incompetence, mom is buying a trailer from someone we need to see if he is paying the taxes how would we do that.

That Ricky, one observant guy:

Al Gore has gone further to the left over the last decade than Zell Miller has gone to the right.

A Chicago alderman has proposed banning pit bulls from the city:

The ordinance introduced yesterday would make it illegal for anyone to own a pit bull terrier dog or a pit bull mix. Owners would have 30 days to get rid of their animals. And violators would face fines of up to one-thousand dollars and up to six months in jail.

The proposal comes almost a year after one woman was killed and another mauled in pit bull attacks in the Dan Ryan Woods in Chicago.

The mayor’s office has opposed a breed-specific ban. And an official with the Humane Society of the United States says such an ordinance would be almost impossible for animal-control authorities to enforce.

Good for the mayor. Shame on WBBM because the picture they show is actually a bull terrier, like Spuds MacKenzie – the original party animal; or William the Conqueror – Patton’s dog. That rather enforces the Human Society’s claim that it’s impossible to regulate the ban since you can’t scientifically determine what breed of dog a particular dog is. Remember, there is no scientific way to determine which breed a specific dog is, they basically have the same genes. It is entirely based on appearance (or papers).

It is estimated that total income tax receipts in 2003 will be $1,211,843,000,000.

Radley Balko writes that the best thing conservatives can do is vote for Dean. I suppose the only good Republican is one that is fighting Democrats.

I agree with Spoons that conservatives will be better off if Dean wins. But most conservatives can’t bring themselves to pull that lever.

Ashby says it best:

“For every Democrat and swing vote Bush has bought with our tax dollars, he deserves to lose a Republican vote,” Ashby says. “I think the president is a good human being. He seems like a very warm and caring person. But he has put politics over principle one too many times.”

But Ashby sounds a lot like part Democrat, part Libertarian.

So Bush wants to send men to the moon and Mars. I understand we can likely get a man to Mars but can we get him back? Who the hell would want that job? But I digress.

I think space travel is cool. Space travel has also lead to advances in technology that have benefited society. But it’s damn expensive.

And to be honest, I don’t really care. Suppose we go to Mars and they even make it back with some rocks and stuff. Will we really learn volumes of things that we don’t already know? I tend to think not. Unless they bring back a Martian, it’s doubtful we’ll discover much that is new. But a Martian would be cool.

To sell this thing, someone needs to spell out the benefits of a moon base. The government shouldn’t be doing stuff just because it’s cool.

Indigo tells us that people 30 and over should very likely be dead. This reminds me of a conversation between my sister and my dad:

Sister: We know so much more about child development and food that kids today are smarter.

Dad: You mean to tell me those idiots with the shit in their face, their hats pointing to the side, and the pants that hang down to their knees are smart?

John has a summary of the IRS using McCain-Feingold to suppress political speech.

I’m fairly certain that FoxNews has had a picture of Michael Jackson on their main page almost every day for the last two weeks. Lame.

WATE:

The Rev. Tim McDonald of Concerned Black Clergy said, “For him to have entered the war in the manner in which he did and now to come to lay a wreath for Doctor King is the epitome of hypocrisy.”

Concerned Black Clergy is planning a protest with other local groups during Bush’s visit Thursday afternoon.

McDonald said the president’s appearance shows “that he wants black votes, that he wants to give the appearance that he’s not a racist, that he’s not a war hawk, but we can see through that veil.”

He’s calling the president a racist? Powell and Rice may disagree. And exactly how do we get from entering war to being a racist?

Did you know a black lady was running for President? You’re not the only one. Regardless, she quit and is now supporting Dean.

In other news, Kerry is surprisingly ahead in the polls in Iowa. This came as a shock to everyone, but Kerry.

Mr. Carpenter was met with boos for continuing to make some ludicrous statements (which I covered here).

Another judge has written an opinion stating the second amendment doesn’t doesn’t secure an individual right to arms:

In a 64-page opinion, Walton ruled that the Second Amendment is not a broad-based right of gun ownership.

“the Second Amendment does not confer an individual a right to possess firearms. Rather, the Amendment’s objective is to ensure the vitality of state militias,” Walton wrote.

He went on to say that the amendment was designed to protect the citizens against a potentially oppressive federal government.

He also ruled that the Second Amendment does not apply to the district because it was intended to protect state citizens, and the district is not a state.

Of course, I expected this in DC. I also have to ask: Where are our state militias? Judges have ruled that Governors don’t control the national guard but the feds do. Where is it?

Oh, that’s right, it’s listed in USC Title 10, Sec 311: The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States …

Via Buddy Don comes this account of a novelist going shooting for the first time (user name/password: laexaminer/laexaminer). Worth the read. Some choice quotes:

The man behind the counter was as pleasant as a grandfather from Central Casting. “What would it take for me to buy a gun?” I asked him. He explained the California laws, some of the most stringent in the country. I would have to wait 10 days — the “cooling off” period. There would be federal and local background checks. I’d have to take a safety class. I’d have to buy a childproof lock. I couldn’t purchase an assault weapon. I couldn’t buy more than one handgun per month. Of course, he said, if I didn’t want to wait, I could drive 10 minutes and buy an Uzi illegally out of someone’s car.

snip

Later, I was surprised to discover that some of my closest friends owned guns. People I never would have suspected confessed that their guns made them feel protected. Still, most of my friends thought handguns should be outlawed, completely, in every circumstance.

I no longer was so sure. I did some research — there are countless testimonials about guns saving someone’s life. I looked into shooting as a sport. I spoke to a woman who had found a wounded deer and shot it, ending its agony. I changed my mind: Guns aren’t bad.

Read the whole thing.

Today I stopped at Weigel’s for milk. Bought some Mayfield’s Brown Cows, which I haven’t had in years. Got home and immediately at two. If you haven’t had a Mayfield’s Brown Cow, you’re missing out on some living.

In 1999, taxpayers contacted the IRS for assistance approximately 117 million times.

The AP:

Tests by Danish and American experts indicate there is no chemical warfare agent in mortar shells unearthed last week in southern Iraq, but more testing is needed to confirm the findings, the Danish military reported Wednesday.

I blogged the initial report here. It seems I (and the Danish and American experts) jumped the gun. Now it really makes me wonder what sorts of experts we have checking out all these weapons.

John has some neat stuff.

The AP:

A woman who was drunk when she killed a man in a head-on collision must carry a photograph of the teacher in his coffin as part of her five years of probation, a judge ruled.

If I understand this and this correctly, it seems people are advocating that dinosaurs once inhabited Mars. Maybe it still is? I mean something’s been shooting those probes down. Maybe a really large brontosaurus was just plucking them from the sky?

Of course, I don’t know much about science.

The Democrats continue to change their tune on gun control:

This time, those vying to challenge George W. Bush in November have at least paid heed to public opinion — not to mention the Constitution — and eased their zeal to violate the rights of gun owners. The advocacy group Americans for Gun Safety surveyed the presidential hopefuls on a range of firearms-related issues, including their views on the Second Amendment. With the exception of the Rev. Al Sharpton, every Democrat responded; President Bush said he would provide his answers during the general campaign.

All the Democrats cited various measures they’d take to restrict the rights of innocent Americans. But what’s interesting here is the Democrats’ unanimity when they were asked whether the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to own guns … or whether it simply states the “collective” right of state militias to be armed. All of them said the Second Amendment — within limits they’d never allow to be placed on other freedoms within the Bill of Rights, to be sure — protects the rights of individuals to possess firearms.

The two schools of thought are, of course, that (1) the Democrats have learned their lesson; or (2) they’re just liars. Each is believable.

Bush, who I don’t think is really a friend of gun owners, has stated he would sign the assault weapons ban. As Jeff pointed out in comments earlier, Bush will sign anything and Bush has not actively pressed the issue of renewing the ban. Also, the Bush administration did file papers stating that the Justice Department takes the philosophy that the Second Amendment does secure an individual right to arms.

There are two schools of thought on Bush’s position on the Assault Weapons ban as well: 1) he’s no friend to gun owners; or 2) he’s saying that to appear moderate because he knows the renewal won’t make it to his desk and he feels he’d get more votes showing support for it. Regardless, he has let down millions of gun owners who voted for him.

The other day while driving down Alcoa Highway (which surprisingly is not the most dangerous road in Blount County), I briefly saw a homemade sign on a guard rail that said something to the effect of:

Adultery is filling Hell

Just thought I’d pass it on.

So far:

Crib – $300
Dresser – $599
Armoire – $799
Glider – $300
Stroller – $199

And we got a lot to go.

While at Babies R Us, we discovered that in Tennessee a child less than age nine or less than 80 pounds must be in a car seat. To me, that seems a bit excessive.

Les has some interesting stats on gun sales.

It’s probably not a good idea to strip in front of people when cameras are around. Or else they make you resign. Oh and that link isn’t work safe.

Via A Little More to the Right.

As much as I hate to agree with a racist, a Newport man was ejected from a council meeting after he protested the city’s parade tax ordinance which requires fees and permits to peacably assemble:

A man who said he is a resident of Cocke County was escorted from the Newport City Council meeting Tuesday evening after he continued to protest the city’s parade ordinance.

Randy Gray told the council he believes the ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution because it requires a permit for public speech, which he argued is guaranteed.

Gray declined later to comment on whether he is associated with the Ku Klux Klan, whose representatives had been expected to attend Tuesday’s meeting.

Police in Michigan raided a fighting dog training facility. It’s abysmal that dog fighting is still popular. Worse is that these dog fights lead to the reputation pit bulls have.

A friend of mine in high school had one of those cheap black light posters in his room. It depicted a menacing looking eagle swooping down on a rather cartoonish looking mouse. The mouse had its hand outstretched and was clearly flipping the eagle a bird. Below was a caption that listed Webster’s definition of Defiance. The mouse was sure to die, but he was defiant until the end.

Senator John Ensign recently talked at a high school:

Ensign spent an additional 30 minutes taking questions from students on a variety of topics. He said he intends to vote to repeal a ban on assault weapons, which he called “the stupidest law that was ever written.

“Without the Second Amendment, you might as well throw away the rest of the Bill of Rights. It sounds like kind of a radical statement but I don’t know if there is a truer statement,” Ensign said.

“Every dictatorship that has ever existed, the first thing they do Saddam Hussein, Adolph Hitler, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot in southeast Asia the first thing they do is disarm the citizenry.

“Because if you disarm the citizenry, then you can trust them. If they are armed, you can’t trust them. That is why our founding fathers recognized the right to keep and bear arms is so critical,” he said.

Ensign said the assault weapons ban is ineffective because it allows some guns that look like and function in the same way as other prohibited guns.

“All you need to know about gun control is to look at Washington D.C., which has the strictest gun control laws in the country and it is one of the least safest cities. All the criminals have guns and none of the law-abiding citizens have guns,” he said. “It is just too easy to get guns illegally to ever ban them.”

I do respect and appreciate the gist of Ensign’s sentiment, however gun ownership was quite prevalent in Iraq. Each family was allowed one gun for self defense (mostly AK47s). This does beg the question: Why didn’t Iraqis revolt? They had guns. My conclusion is that they lacked the quality our little mouse mentioned above had: displaying defiance.

Of course, you can’t blame them. Spending decades with a government that commits night time raids, rapes of family members, torture, gassing people, and a whole other list of atrocities may have lead the Iraqis to develop learned helplessness. After all, seeing a friend or family member dragged off never to return would likely have the desired effect of crushing dissent.

In short, guns are useless without the will to right wrongs and take risks. Sadly, I think America is at the point where most of us are unwilling to take risks, stand up for what’s right, and speak truth to power.

We sit by while our courts restrict speech; politicians authorize government agencies to snoop through citizen’s records without warrants; police randomly harass motorists; indoor plumbing justifies why police no longer have to knock and announce their presence before entering a suspect’s home; dissenters are quarantined to First Amendment Zones; judges tell people they can’t sell their book; local governments abuse eminent domain; men armed with machine guns parade around our large cities; people are detained without access to legal counsel, sometimes in secret; and the list goes on and on.

As long as Michael Jackson is in the news, Paris Hilton is sucking dick, and the latest reality TV shows are popular, we don’t notice. Or we don’t care.

Or we’re forced to pick two losing sides. Democrats and Republicans have equally deplorable records regarding civil liberties. It just depends which particular civil liberty you’re talking about. We often vote for the lesser of two evils.

It’s up to us to change it by holding politicians responsible. If we can’t do that now with our vote, we won’t have the will to do anything if our last hope turns out to be AK47s.

Are we Iraqis or mice?

Two accounts of the same study:

Newsday:

About one of every seven guns linked to American crimes or considered suspicious from 1996 through 2000 can be traced back to the same 120 gun stores, a gun safety group said Monday, urging the government to set up a watch list of irresponsible or corrupt gun dealers.

WATE:

An antigun group Monday said five Tennessee gun stores are among 120 nationwide on a targeted list.

Emphasis added.

Each leaves a rather different impression, don’t you think?

The AP:

The Supreme Court gave police leeway Tuesday to use random roadblocks to track down criminals.

Justices said in the 6-3 ruling that police checkpoint stops, when used to seek information about recent crimes, do not violate the privacy rights of other motorists.

The court overturned a decision by the Illinois Supreme Court, which had ruled that it was not an emergency in 1997 when officers stopped cars at an intersection outside Chicago to pass out leaflets seeking information about a fatal hit-and-run.

Justice Stephen Bayer said that “police appropriately tailored their checkpoint stops to fit important criminal investigatory needs.”

Three justices, however, expressed concerns that the ruling could open up motorists to police interference without yielding information about crimes.

The Supreme Court continues to scare me. Apparently, if there is a specific crime and you are in an area deemed logistically close to the crime, you can be randomly stopped and interrogated.

New stuff at the Carnival, particularly a firing positions for a rifle by the always excellent Publicola.

Lots of good stuff over at the Citizens Against Government Waste blog. Give it a read.

Peter Worthington of the Toronto Sun:

Arguably, the most useless boondoggle ever implemented by a Canadian government is gun registration – a step towards confiscation.

It’s not the horrendous cost of nearly $1 billion (so far) that’s the scandal – shucks, governments waste that all the time, witness our submarines that leak. It’s that gun control may actually increase violent crime. The feds already fudge figures to pretend it works.

A new book in the U.S. by Richard Poe, The Seven Myths of Gun Control – is concise and powerful and should be required reading.

Poe has amassed impressive evidence that lack of guns among the public – in any country – increases burglaries and the criminal use of guns. Britain and Australia have already experienced this.

They’ll be coming around soon.

is this:

Kessler acknowledged there is nothing to indicate that the 120 stores sold the guns illegally or knew they were selling to criminals. He compared them to the liquor stores of his youth.

But the alarmists state:

About one of every seven guns linked to American crimes or considered suspicious from 1996 through 2000 can be traced back to the same 120 gun stores, a gun safety group said Monday, urging the government to set up a watch list of irresponsible or corrupt gun dealers.

Of the 373,006 guns traced from crimes during the five-year period, 54,694 came from the 120 stores, according to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives. The data, which surfaced in a lawsuit by the NAACP against gun manufacturers, was made public by the Washington-based Americans for Gun Safety Foundation.

Gun lobby sets sights on weapons restrictions:

The gun lobby is marshaling its forces for an all-out assault this year to weaken key gun-control laws and shield weapons makers from liability in lawsuits.

“Major advances for the NRA are within reach this year,” said Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at the State University of New York and author of a book on the politics of gun control. “With the most sympathetic administration ever, the gun rights groups will have all their chips on the table.”

Over the next weeks and months, the pro-gun lobby is expected to play those chips in a friendly, Republican-controlled Congress, pushing ahead on an agenda that has gun control forces on the defensive. Congress will consider proposals that would:

Amend a law that now allows FBI gun-buyer background checks to be kept for 90 days after a sale. The new law would require their destruction after 24 hours.

Provide immunity from liability to gun makers and dealers in civil lawsuits in federal court.

Extend the 10-year-old law banning semi-automatic assault weapons that expires in September. House Republican leaders oppose any effort to extend the ban.

I don’t think gun owners have the most gun friendly administration ever. Bush said he’d sign the Assault Weapons Ban. ‘Nuff said. The ban doesn’t ban semi-automatic assault weapons, it bans features they can have.

My favorite is this tidbit:

Given Washington’s domination by the GOP, “the most the gun control advocates can hope for is to maintain the status quo,” said Kristen Goss, a Georgetown University professor, who is writing a book on the history of the gun control movement.

The enemy is scared. The article also points out that the rifle used by the DC snipers wasn’t banned by the Assault Weapons Ban. Actually, it says:

The Bushmaster XM15 used in the Washington-area sniper attacks, for example, may be sold even though it is a similar version of the AR15 assault rifle banned under the law.

Implying that those rascally gun makers are up to something nefarious.

Jeff (who I am no longer calling the God of Biscuits because he’s obviously not an Eddie Izzard fan) relays some history of the Denver Post’s pit bull bias.

I took Rich shooting handguns, his first time. Read his account here and please offer any advice regarding weapons choices and other things.

One note to Rich, it’s called a magazine not a clip. This tends to get under the skin of some gun folks (not me, I know what you mean). The rule is that a clip goes in a magazine but a magazine doesn’t go in a clip.

And I gave Rich the larger caliber gun first. Some people say this is a no-no. I disagree. After firing a short barreled 45, a 9MM is a rather relaxing (for lack of a better word) round.

Also, the shooting stance I tried to teach is known as the Weaver Stance (left foot forward) as opposed to isosceles (both feet aligned). Here’s some info on the two.

As Rich squeezed off his first round, he had gathered quite a crowd. Gun types typically offer their support to any new shooter.

Rich seemed to enjoy it and we plan on going again. In fact, I may organize and RTB day at the range. It’d be fun. I’d even invite Barry, who wouldn’t go what with all that radiation seeping into his brain and stuff.

I did try (unsuccessfully) to not let my preference for handguns influence Rich but he does seem to favor the Glock. Good choice. Here’s why I like Glocks.

Welcome to the shooting sports, Rich. I’m glad I have annoyed Sarah Brady.

A woman who asked about a flight simulator for her ten year old son was treated to a visit from the state police. Lame.

Via Kevin comes this AP report:

The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider whether the government properly withheld names and other details about hundreds of foreigners detained in the weeks and months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The high court turned down a request to review the secrecy surrounding detainees, nearly all Arabs or Muslims, who were picked up in the United States following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Hiding such activities is never OK.

As of June 2000, the Treasury Department had issued almost 20,000 pages of regulations containing over 8 million words.

I stated here that if the Cleveland Plain Dealer stuck to its promise to publish a list of permit holders in Ohio that I would publish the names, home addresses, and home numbers of their staff here. I encouraged others to do the same. Some other bloggers are jumping the gun and posting the editor’s information.

Could be jumping the gun on this one guys but I don’t quite disapprove yet. It’s a preemptive strike, I suppose.

I reviewed the ClipDraw and Saf-T-Blok earlier here. This is a follow up to that post:

I went to the range yesterday with Rich and we fired the Glock 30 with the ClipDraw. The ClipDraw made the slide difficult to rack because it covers the serrations on the slide. It was difficult to rack because you couldn’t get a grip. This problem could be solved if the folks at ClipDraw would put serrations on the outer edge of the device. We had to rack the slide by gripping it at the front. This is only a minor nuisance and I still stand by the product.

The other issue is that to disassemble the gun for cleaning, the ClipDraw had to be removed. This fact is not illustrated in the literature accompanying the product. I am still very happy with the ClipDraw in terms of providing an incredible means of carrying a gun with the utmost in concealability. Do not let this be a factor if you’re contemplating buying one. The benefits in concealability make up for this minor inconvenience.

Jeff has the weekly gun bias post up.

Apparently, politicos send it to the nice folks that write them letters.

When I graduated high school, my dad invited Bush1 to my graduation. I got a nice letter stating he regretted that he was unable to attend my wedding.

Since Sharpton is irrelevant, he recently relied on the one thing guaranteed to get him attention: Race Bating:

Howard Dean, a former governor of mostly white Vermont, was put on the defensive on his record on race in the last debate before Democratic presidential campaign voting kicks off in a week.
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton forced Dean to acknowledge Sunday that no blacks or Hispanics served in his cabinet during 12 years as governor.

“While I respect the fact you brought race into this campaign, you ought to talk freely and openly about whether you went out of the box to try to do something about race in your home state and have experience with working with blacks and browns at peer level, not as just friends you might have had in college,” Sharpton said.

Dean responded, “I will take a back seat to no one in my commitment to civil rights in the United States of America.”

If Sharpton is dissatisfied with his press, someone’s got to be a racist. While we ponder the important issue of how many minorities Dean had on staff, SayUncle estimates that in America today: 21 black people will commit murder; 22 black people will be murdered; 506 black people will be arrested for drug trafficking crimes; 1,000,000 black people are in prison; and 26,500,000 black people live in poverty.

A proposal is kicking off for statewide breed specific legislation in Colorado. Here’s an account of one man’s bite:

Larry Oliver knew something wasn’t right with Roz, his daughter’s pit bull.

For four years Roz acted like a sweet dog, but suddenly Roz was acting bizarre. She growled for no reason, with a sneer that showed her sharp incisors. She didn’t scamper around like the happy-go-lucky dog she had been. A few days after he noticed the change, on a Sunday afternoon two years ago, Roz attacked Oliver.

Oliver was outside in the yard when the dog ran out, knocked him to the ground and bit him on the left leg. The puncture wounds drew blood. That’s when, Oliver says, Roz went nuts.

She tore into his right leg next, ripping through his blue jeans. Then she bit his right arm. Then the dog latched onto his left forearm and chewed so deep, with such viciousness, that Roz ripped tendons and muscles and even snapped bones.

Given what I know of dogs, I’d say it is unlikely the dog just snapped one day (though it is possible, I suppose). Something triggered it. He was perceived as a threat or maybe the dog was subjected to abuse (not necessarily from family members).

More:

For two years, Oliver waged a private campaign against pit bulls. He’d tell friends or friends of friends to steer clear of them. If someone had one, he cautioned them with his tale.

But after the death of Jennifer Brooke, the Elbert County woman who was mauled to death by three pit bulls in November, Oliver decided that he had to go public.

Oliver, 57, of Clifton announced last week that he is poised to launch a signature petition to get a statewide anti-pit bull initiative on the November ballot.

He needs 67,829 signatures of registered Colorado voters for Secretary of State Donetta Davidson to approve it.

I hope the residents of Colorado will not sign this. Obviously, I oppose BSL.

The Tennesseean reports the following is on the legislature’s agenda:

But first, I like Bredesen’s quote about the budet: about $22 billion worth of stuff.

Proposal for TennCare.

There are other major issues, including rewriting state law on workers’ compensation partly to reduce employer insurance premiums, equalizing rural-urban teacher pay, capping punitive damages at $250,000 in medical malpractice lawsuits, requiring sprinklers in nursing homes, removing the lottery board’s absolute authority to decide when its meetings should be open to the public, returning to a system where local school superintendents are elected directly by the voters and combating identity theft by requiring those seeking vital records, such as birth certificates, to identify themselves.

Relaxing concelaed carry laws.

WATE writes:

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — The Tennessee lottery’s budget includes no money for gambling addiction education or treatment. And some critics say that could cause problems down the line.

Legislators didn’t earmark money for such programs, but lottery officials say they will be committed to promoting safe gaming among players.

Spokesman Will Pinkston says the lottery will use the words “Play Responsibly” on a lot of information, and will put links to national gambling addiction programs and resources on its Web site when it launches next week.

But the director of the National Council on Problem Gambling calls the state’s attitude a travesty, saying the Tennessee lottery is going “backward in time” by not promoting gambling education.

So, someone is upset that we’re not funding help for gambling addiction?

Yup:

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish troops have found dozens of mortar rounds buried in Iraq which initial tests show could contain blister gas, the Danish army says.

The tests were taken after Danish troops found 36 120mm mortar rounds on Friday in southern Iraq. The Danish army said they had been buried for at least 10 years.

“All the instruments showed indications of the same type of chemical compound, namely blister gas,” the Danish Army Operational Command said on its Web site on Saturday, cautioning that further tests were needed.

Blister gases, such as mustard gas, are used in chemical weapons.

Blister gas, an illegal weapon which former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein said he had destroyed, was extensively used against the Iranians during the 1980 to 1988 war.

Although it can kill if it enters the lungs, its use is primarily to debilitate infantry by causing the skin to break out in excruciatingly painful blisters.

The United States launched its war to oust Saddam on March 20 saying the Iraqi leader violated U.N. resolutions by developing weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons.

Teams of international weapons inspectors however have so far been unable to locate those weapons.

One more lefty talking point goes poop.

Update: Tests by Danish and American experts indicate there is no chemical warfare agent in mortar shells unearthed last week in southern Iraq (news – web sites), but more testing is needed to confirm the findings, the Danish military reported Wednesday.

I used to love The Daily Show, back when Craig hosted it. Not a fan of John Stewart. Apparently, Stewart has actually (after several years) become funny. A recent episode discussing the new automated system for fingerprinting visitors to the US and checking prints to a database went like this:

Civil libertarians decry the system as Orwellian. Of course, civil libertarians decry license plates as Orwellian.

As Homer says: It’s funny ’cause it’s true.

Kevin and Mike are interviewed in a local paper. And Mike is back from hiatus with lots of good stuff.

Bigwig compares what the left is experiencing to the dot com bust.

A part of Vermont wants to secede and join New Hampshire:

Officials in the popular ski resort area of Killington want the town to secede from Vermont and join neighboring New Hampshire in a dispute over taxes.

They say the town’s restaurants, inns and other businesses send $10 million a year to the state capital in sales, room and meal taxes, but the state returns just $1 million in state aid to Killington.

Even more galling to the town is a statewide property tax imposed in 1997 to fund schools. The town of 1,092 won a Superior Court order that called the state’s method of assessing local properties “arbitrary and capricious,” but the state Supreme Court reversed that decision.

“It kind of reminds us of Colonial days,” Town Manager David Lewis said Thursday. “The Colonies were being faced with the Stamp Act, the Tea Act, the Sugar Act. England wasn’t giving them any rights. They were treating the Colonies as just a revenue source.”

New Hampshire, just 25 miles east, has no income tax or sales tax.

Love the last line, maybe I should move.

Seems they’d fit right in with the Live Free Or Die state, though one of the Volokh’s doesn’t think New Hampshire would welcome it.

My favorite hoplophobe is a year old!

I remember him when he was just a commentor. Congrats and here’s to many more!

Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter:

“We want to give good information to Wilmette residents about what we advise them to do if they ever find themselves in this situation [burglar breaks into home]. Lock the bedroom door and call 911. Protect yourselves and your children first,” Carpenter said.

Mr. Carpenter, you are a complete and utter moron.

Anyone know of a good online people finder (to find home addresses and phone numbers)? Preferably a free one (of course). You do a web search for this stuff and you get so much crap (spam, registration, blah blah blah) that it’s not useful at all.

Per this Dean Tax Calculator, Dean’s tax plan would cost me $3,338.12.

Clark’s plan would save me $488.

Via Bill Hobbs.

Oh, and here’s your happy fun tax fact for the day:

There are 693 sections of the Internal Revenue Code that are applicable to individual taxpayers, 1,501 sections applicable to businesses, and 445 sections applicable to tax-exempt organizations, employee plans, and governments

WaPo:

Two Democratic senators asked the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq to explain its intended purchase of up to 50,000 AK-47 assault rifles for Iraq security forces, when they said the country is filled with such weapons. The September solicitation to contractors sought prices for up to 50,000 “brand new, never fired, fixed stock” weapons made in 1987 or later.

“We question whether this is an efficient use of U.S. taxpayer dollars in a country already awash with AK-47s, many of which have been confiscated by coalition forces and are sitting in stockpiles,” Democratic Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) wrote to L. Paul Bremer, head of the U.S. governing authority. The senators cited news reports that the captured weapons are in excellent condition and said there would be little cost to distribute them to security forces.

Hey, you guys could send some of those stateside too.

Trumping up charges to jail the innocent:

One recent case brought to light by Ellen Podgor and Paul Rosenzweig is that of three Americans sentenced in federal court to eight years in prison for importing lobster tails from Honduras in plastic bags instead of cardboard boxes. Why this matters, no one knows. Moreover the importers of the lobster tails have no responsibility for how the seafood was packed in Honduras.

Federal prosecutors decided that Honduran law was violated by the shipment because a few tails (3% of the shipment) were less than 5.5 inches in length.

The Honduran government objects to this interpretation of its law and filed a brief in behalf of the defendants, but federal judges nevertheless convicted their fellow citizens for violating the Lacey Act by importing “fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any foreign law.”

To insure a harsh sentence the prosecutors loaded up charges against the defendants by bringing indictments for smuggling, money laundering and conspiracy. Smuggling is inferred from a few of the tails allegedly being undersized and illegal. Money laundering is charged because the lobster purchase and sale required money to be deposited in a bank. Conspiracy is charged on the basis that more than one person was involved.

In other words, these are totally trumped-up crimes.

How much will it cost to jail these dangerous criminals for eight years?

Marc is back with lots of good stuff. Particularly, how to holster a weapon so you don’t shoot your ding ding.

Bush came to Knoxville and there were some protests. These protests were limited to First Amendment Zones. While I’m no fan of Bush, I’m typically less of a fan of these protester types (blood for oil, Bush lied – people died, and all form of other hippie tree-hugging crap) but they still have a right to protest to their heart’s content.

WATE’s coverage.
WBIR’s Coverage.
KNS Coverage
InstaPundit Commentary.
Bill Hobbs unsuccessfully defends First Amendment Zones. Sorry Bill, you’re wrong on this one.
And Bubba says almost everyone is wrong.
And Bubba has pictures from the protest.

Note to self: Self, go to next Bush protest and set up a Second Amendment Zone just to draw the ire of the secret service and the protesters. Muhahaha.

Journal Times:

Larry Ryan Dunkerly was acting in self-defense when he shot a deputy in the foot last month, his lawyer said at a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Dunkerly, 22, 1703 Erie St. upper, didn’t know that Racine County Sheriff’s deputies were executing a search warrant at his apartment when he opened fire shortly before 6 a.m. on Dec. 12. Instead, Dunkerly thought he was being robbed, lawyer Eric P. Guttenberg said.

Racine Police Investigator George Wanggaard, who interviewed Dunkerly after the shooting, said basically the same thing in his testimony.

“He indicated that he believed he was being robbed,” Wanggaard said. “He armed himself and fired from the doorway.”

Dunkerly was in bed in his apartment when a Racine County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team charged up the stairs to his apartment. Deputies were serving a no-knock search warrant to look for drugs in Dunkerly’s apartment.

Hmmm, seems this could have been avoided by knocking on the door.

Since Taft signed the CCW law into effect that mandates the list of permit holders be public information, The Cleveland Plain Dealer says:

Since Taft chooses to hide behind journalists on this vital public-records matter, it is this newspaper’s intention to obtain this information and publish it. Our readers deserve to know the identities of those who obtain permits to carry their guns in public. We hope other news organizations will do the same in their communities.

In response, KABA has vowed:

The editors of this newspaper can expect a taste of their own medicine.

As soon as they publish permit holders’ names, we’ll publish the names, phone numbers and home addresses of every single person on staff at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Same goes for any other newspaper that singles out gun owners in this way.

And we will distribute that data as far and wide as we can, throughout the State of Ohio, through all channels of our influence — just like these Gun Bigots are threatening to do.

I will publish that list here too. I advise all pro-gun bloggers to do the same.

In light of the recent declaration of Free Speech Zones, be it resolved that all SayUncle property can now be considered:

Right to bear arms zones
Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures zones.

Thank you.

I’ve stated that I didn’t think Clark could beat Dean, as Dean as energized a portion of Democrat loyalists. I could be wrong:

Former NATO Gen. Wesley Clark’s campaign is gaining ground in the latest New Hampshire poll and Howard Dean is slipping among Democratic supporters, according to the latest poll out Wednesday.

The Granite State’s primary takes place on Jan. 27. Recent poll numbers show that Dean, the former Vermont governor, remains on top there, but new developments have emerged in the battle for second place. Whereas Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry had been in the lead for second and was once a favorite to win that state, Clark has surpassed him for that position, according to the American Research Group poll released Wednesday.

Dean does maintain a rather significant lead (20 points) though so I’m not quite wrong yet. And Dean is potentially toast in the south.

Dean does do one thing for the Democrats, he makes Clark look moderate.

Me and the Mrs. have been getting as gifts lots of baby clothes. These clothes are decorated with things such as dinosaurs, boats, baseball stuff, Pooh, and a variety of other cutesy stuff. Some things on these clothes are designed so parents can illustrate their hobbies on their child (such as the baseball stuff). I am rather disappointed that I can’t find a Sigarms, Glock or AR15 onesie.

Another thing I’d like to see are adult sizes. We got a flannel onesie that covers from toe to neck (it even has a hood). It looks darn comfortable and I’d personally like to have one (that fits a six foot one inch tall guy) to lounge around the house in on cold nights.

Getting a lot of hits to the site for the SUV tax deduction. It’s gearing up to be tax season. Today’s fun tax fact:

The Internal Revenue Code consists of approximately 1,395,000 words.

It appears some protestors broke free of the free speech zone which prompted Bush to change his mind. No, really.

Another arrest of home grown terrorists goes largely under-reported:

In the East Texas hamlet of Noonday — known for onions, not anarchy — federal agents arrested a common-law couple last April. They were hiding a weapons cache, including, as CBS News Correspondent Bob McNamara reports, the makings of a sophisticated sodium cyanide bomb capable of killing thousands.

William Krar, 62, with ties to white supremacist groups, pleaded guilty to possessing a chemical weapon and faces life in prison, while 54-year-old Judith Bruey could get five years. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess illegal weapons.

“They certainly had the capacity to be extremely dangerous,” says U.S. assistant attorney Wes Rivers.

What agents found at a storage facility shocked them.

Photographs obtained by Dallas CBS station KTVT show illegal machine guns, boxes filled with 500,000 rounds of ammunition, homemade bombs, bomb-making instructions, antidotes for nerve agents and a Ku Klux Klan calling card.

That Damn Foreigner has the latest Volunteer Tailgate Party.

Local blogger and all around nice guy Rich Hailey had a letter published in the KNS.

Thanks to Jay, someone has said arguably the dumbest thing about the epic battle of liberals v. conservatives:

we liberals may be feeling pretty beat up lately, but if you listen closely it’s pretty clear that we’ve decisively won virtually the entire public debate with conservatives. The right wing likes to talk a lot of smack about how the country is going their way, but it’s really not true even after 20 years of the Reagan/Gingrich/Bush revolution.

Let’s review:

Iraq – Nope, still happened.

Gun control – Nope, I still have some guns and as of today 34 states have concealed carry laws.

Taxes – Nope, Americans like tax cuts.

Balanced budgets – well, that one is up in the air. Republicans talk about it but as soon as the snag all three branches, they forget about it. Never been a Liberal ideal but Clinton did do it. Oh, and Nope.

Restricting free trade – Nope.

Gay marriage – Nope, not yet.

Capital punishment – Nope.

Big government – well, they got this one but their guy didn’t do it.

Abortion – Ok, they get one on this list.

Welfare: I seem to recall some reform. Nope.

That’s just off the top of my head. There are probably more.

Of course, Republicans haven’t gained ground on privatizing stuff, the tax cuts they really want, vouchers, etc. That and they’ve abandoned some ideals recently (small government, balanced budget, immigration). It seems neither side is winning and that is good.

Like it or not, it’s hard for either side to change the status quo.

Note: The above are entirely meant to represent stereotypical liberal and conservative ideals; e.g., not every liberal is for gun control nor is every conservative pro-life. But the positions above are usually associated as mentioned.

SierraTimes writes:

According to conversations on the tape, [Knoxville] Deputy Fire Chief Bob Presley and others allegedly altered training records to receive money from the state for training that was never taken. Firefighters claim both Knoxville Fire Chief Ed Cureton and city lawyer Alice Eberting were aware of the allegations and did nothing about it.

Quick skim of local media shows no coverage of this.

The KNS gives the skinny on Free Speech Zones. I’ll give the skinny: They violate Constitutional protections.

Barry may want to stay home.

Ohio:

Lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday to allow Ohioans to carry concealed guns, and Gov. Bob Taft said he will sign it.

Those who apply for the permits would have to pay a fee, undergo background checks and be trained in the use of a weapon.

The bill also makes the names of permit holders available to reporters. Taft’s insistence on this provision had derailed the bill late last year.

I don’t understand the reason for publishing a list of permit holders.

Kansas:

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ opposition to a bill allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns may not matter, according to a northeast Kansas legislator who is pushing for the law.

Rep. Candy Ruff, a Democrat from Leavenworth, said she hoped the legislation would win by such large margins in the Legislature that it would survive a veto by Sebelius. Overturning a veto would require two-thirds votes in the House and Senate.

“My whole take on this is to work to make it veto-proof in order not to involve the governor,” Ruff said

Via Geek With A 45, comes this BBC article (yes, the BB fucking C) which states Britain needs more guns:

Old stereotypes die hard and the vision of Britain as a peaceable kingdom, America as “the wild west culture on the other side of the Atlantic” is out of date. It is true that in contrast to Britain’s tight gun restrictions, half of American households have firearms, and 33 states now permit law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons.

But despite, or because, of this, violent crime in America has been plummeting for 10 consecutive years, even as British violence has been rising. By 1995 English rates of violent crime were already far higher than America’s for every major violent crime except murder and rape.

As the Geek says: Holy shit!

Mays has the worst album covers ever. No really.

Per this:

It may give you the creeps, but it’s ”Vermilion Open Carry Shopping Day,” as proclaimed by supporters of a law allowing Ohioans to carry concealed weapons.

Dan White of Lorain, organizer of this sad and ill-advised stunt, tells potential participants on his Web site, ”Handguns only please. Longarms risk knocking over merchandise and crowding customers. It will be your choice whether to carry your firearm loaded.”

It’s generally legal under current Ohio law to carry a licensed weapon in public as long as it’s in plain view. White organized a peaceful ”gun walk” in Lorain in October.

A ”publicity stunt” is how Vermilion Mayor Jimmy Davis characterized tomorrow’s event. ”They just want press.” Police plan to monitor the event, and don’t expect trouble.

At least eight businesses gave their consent to serve pistol-packing patrons, according to White. He said they include Bittersweet Annie, Brummer’s Homemade Chocolates and Candies, Jan’s Added Touch, Lee’s Landing, RJ Antiques and Collectibles, Main Street Soda and Grill, Tactical Edge Paintball Shop and Vermilion Hardware. Three shops told White to keep out, Encore Shop, Papa Joe’s and Victorian Country Cottage.

White belongs to a group called Ohioans for Concealed Carry and defends the Vermilion event saying it will ”present a visual choice to citizens,” open carrying of weapons as opposed to concealed carry.

It’s irritating and tiresome to see White and his fellow ‘’shoppers” exploiting the traditional Christmas shopping season to shove their pro-gun philosophy in everyone’s face.

Meanwhile, this unsigned opinion piece is shoving its anti-gun philosophy in everyone’s face. Losers and hypocrites.

Via Kevin.

Wince and Nod offers some advice to Rich.

She compares daycare centers to Nazi Germany. And don’t forget to read this, excerpt:

Dear Dr. Laura:

[snip]

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

Attacks on coalition troops in Iraq are down 60% and no one’s talking about it. Well, almost no one.

Bush has yet to veto anything, probably because he hasn’t seen a spending bill he doesn’t like.

Some lawmakers in Tennessee want to pass a law that allows CCW holders to carry where alcohol is served so long as the don’t drink. I’m all for it. The con to it of course is that maybe someone will carry and drink then go on a shooting spree. Of course, the odds of this happening are slight.

The pro side to the argument is that the guns are safer with the patron rather than locked in vehicle in the parking lot.

The UK passes tough gun laws and crime goes up. This year, crime was at a record. The UK decides the problem is that they didn’t ban enough guns so now someone is advocating banning toy replica guns.

So, on the radio this morning, I heard that Kucinich brought some nice pie charts and graphs to the recent Democrat debate. I guess he didn’t realize that the debate was going to be on the radio, where such charts are rather meaningless.

I had to blacklist the URL www.whitehouse.gov from comments due to some spam bot hitting my comments with the google bomb.

Michael applied for and was denied a permit to carry a concealed weapon in California. He then fills out a public records act request to figure out how many permits are issued and denied. He talked to the city attorney who said they were working on it. Now read the latest. Ignorance or lying? You be the judge.

Xrlq addresses the pit bull name change I talked about here. He also gives some history of the AKC and pit bulls vs. Am Staffs.

It should be noted that to us purists (who don’t care about the AKC or registries) that Am Staffs and Pit Bulls are actually different breeds. Am Staffs tend to be larger than Pit Bulls. Of course, we purists will argue with other purists until we’re blue in the face and no one will be convinced.

I think this spring, Politically Incorrect Dog may go on his first hog catch.

David Bernstein addresses the tendency to attribute successes to Jesus. I don’t know why but this reminds me of Evander Holyfield, who apparently kicks people’s asses for Jesus.